http://ericandnelle.com

Woot!

Got to sell it/ give it to my best friend… I’m a happy camper

-Eric

Hey Guys & Gals…

To be blunt, this SUCKS.

I’ve just moved back to Central Florida to help my family for a bit, and it’s time for me to buy another antique… And, well… I refuse to own as many vehicles at once as I used to, so I suppose I’ve got to let her go

(It’s killing me!!)

“Bugsie” is a 1970 VW Beetle…
She has the 1600cc motor and is in the midst of a restoration job.

I started from the outside, in.
- New paint (3 months old, has a three year warranty!) it’s a burgundy (with mica fleck…
NOT mettalic, but subtly eye catching) and antique cream, two tone. It looks GOOD!!

- New front fenders (rust free baby)

- New running boards (new like… Last WEEK, new)

- Integrated blinkers with the front bumper… Looks MUCH better.

- Surf rack

Then there’s the 1600cc motor…
It’s just seals and a head torquing away from a full rebuild (didn’t have
time to finish everything last time we were working on it).

- Fresh Carburetor (27+ mpg baby)

- Brand New Distributor

- Brand New Coil

- Brand New Plugs / Plug Wires

- New Air Cleaner (OEM)

- Brand New Heater Tubes

- Brand New Exhaust System

Over a two week period, I drove this car from Orange County, CA to Seattle, WA (and back!)…
Surfing up and down the Coast… So I’m sure you can understand my hesitancy to sell!!
(Read more about it on my blog: www.EricFarewell.com)

It truly was an EPIC adventure.

It was an incredible trip!! And filled with loads of “what a beautiful Bug!”
comments from practically everyone I met

Now the interior is where she’s still hurting a bit.

BUT, I just bought a *new* carpet kit (and have begun the installation) all she really
needs is a headliner, upholstery and a new dash, I just haven’t had time to buy those
and put ‘em in!

The electrical system isn’t perfect either, but I have a mechanic working to fix that as
well (the right blinker sometimes doesn’t work properly when the headlights are on,
and the wipers are off, too!)

That’s the best part about owning a 39 year old car built on another continent…
It has CHARACTER. Still though, this car really is in incredible driving shape.

Tires are good, brakes are good, shocks are good (and I have replacements waiting
to go in if these ever die).

Rust wise, I’d eventually replace the floorboards (they’re a little “holier-than-thou”)
and there is a bit of surface corrosion in other random places… Again, it’s a SURF bug
that has BEEN surfing… haha. She’s not perfect.

All in all, it’s the most fun, most unique, most “cool”, most exciting, and BEST car
I’ve ever owned and I couldn’t be happier with it.

I LOVE this car… SO much!!

I’m in no MAJOR rush to sell her, but would prefer it happens sooner than later.
You can take her home for just $4,900 — try getting that kind of price on any other
“antique”…

Heck, even on any other comparable Bug… (without the story mine has
I’ll even include a giant canvas print of your choosing from the “Epic Surf Trip”
Feel free to email me at: vw@ericfarewell.com and we’ll set up a few minutes to chat.

Move fast before she’s gone!

-Eric

From the “Epic Surf Trip” — South.
I toyed with Final Cut Pro for the first time today, to make this video a reality.
Special thanks to Joshua Christensen, my Cousin and the videographer for much of this content…

I want to also thank Jack Kempers and all of the crew over at GoPro Camera for hooking us up with the very best in waterproof, shockproof, TINY cameras… I’m planning on adding 5-6 of them to my next project; flying over (and under) some of the craziest things you’ve ever seen

The “Avenue Of The Giants” in Northern California is one heck of a road… LOTS of tight,
extraordinarily fun corners… AND a 55 mph speed limit.

Now, let me tell you, I can drive REALLY fast around corners… Even so, it was ALL I could
do to maintain that kind speed, lol.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of the video… We had an absolute BLAST making it!

Talk Soon,

**UPDATED!**
Robert & Angela’s Wedding Adventure!!

This past weekend in Santa Barbara, CA we experienced something radical.
Something DIFFERENT.

You see, most days in Southern California, we’re blessed by divine weather…
Clear, blue, 65-75 degrees and far from humid… Occasionally though, we’re
blessed… Nay, BLESSED by what I can only call “Hawaii Skies”

You’ll see what I mean below… We had such fun with Robert and Angela under
those “Hawaii Skies” that I really cannot even imagine shooting them without
the impending threat of drenching rain, lol.

Gorgeous eh?!

We started things off on Friday afternoon with a quick engagement session,
before we rushed off to the ceremony site for a fun and easy rehearsal
(and a DELICIOUS dinner!).

Trees!!

I’m a big fan of Piers

But I have a serious love affair with THIS photo:

So has every other guy I’ve shown it to though… Must be a guy thing

They’re perfect for each other

Look at those crazy clouds!!

So Cute

And Romantic too!

The Santa Barbara Courthouse has some great views from the top…

P.S. I’m officially addicted to Tilt Shift lenses…

And you can see why…

Click to see the LARGE version *HERE*

Brian and Mandee

Click to see the LARGE version *HERE*

Call me non-traditional, but I simply couldn’t resist capturing a few pictures
of the Bride’s brother and his girlfriend… They’re just too cute!

Besides, I met Brian and Angela at the wedding I shot in the redwoods
a couple years back… So I already knew they were BOTH awesome


And that’s the end of day one
I’ll add the day two photos to the end of this post sometime soon,
but for now; I’m exhausted and getting sick!!

Oh, and I’m moving back to Florida too
Loooots of reasons why and I promise to fill you all in soon.

_______________________________________________________

Day Two:

It’s 3:26AM so I’m going to do my best to post just a few photos and very few
words… That said, I’d LOVE to get your thoughts on them, so make sure you let
me know which you like best!

Preparations…

The Waiting Game…

Sometimes it simply amazes me how little sleep we get during big events
in our lives like weddings… Makes catnaps all the more appreciated!!

Push!

Beauty…

Sometimes over exposing an image can bring out the most beautiful things

Boys…

You really ought to see alllll the ones I have of them horsing around,
they’re too much fun!! (A few more made it onto my Facebook, so if we’re
friends there you can check ‘em out!

Girls…

Flowers!

A Moment… Just For Them.

Swoop!

Kiss time

Testing…

My lights… Before I decided to go it without ‘em

A Good Choice!

Back Up…

They’re just TOO cute together, aren’t they?!



Last One… Epic!

I really need to photoshop more of my images… None of these have been properly
“shopped” I’ve only just BARELY run them through Camera Raw. One day soon,
I’ll upload images that look like these… Only better

Matt’s shots are phenomenal as well, and of course we have hundreds more from
the ceremony, and the reception… But; I’m falling asleep… Sooooo that means it’s
time to POST this thing!

Thank you all as always for your time, and for sharing your thoughts.
You make the time spent blogging OH so worth it!

P.S. I promise to finish up the “Adventures of Bugsie” as soon as possible
too… Right now, my primary concern is getting packed, and getting healthy!
(Have a nagging little sickness that’s just begun Pray for me!)

P.P.S. Which was your favorite photo so far??


Oh, and what can I be praying for YOU about?

Mechanics, Motors, Micro-Brews,
and (Finally) Making Headway!

*Or, How I Came to Love A Grandpa Who was Not My Own*

I‘ve been blessed with an incredible set of Grandfather’s…
On my Mom’s side, “Pappa” was a fighter pilot in WWII, a flight
instructor, a chef, an aircraft salesman, and a serial entrepreneur.

His soups made it to the moon on Apollo 15-16, his restaurant has
been awarded the Golden Spoon award for decades… Oh, and he
holds at least one Guinness World Record that I know of… Not Bad!

As for my Dad’s side, “Pop-Pop” is a hero, a soldier, family man…
And the greatest fisherman my Dad’s ever known (and THAT is saying
something, ’cause I’ll tell you what… My Dad can catch some serious fish!)

It shouldn’t be taken lightly then, the whole “loving another grandfather”
thing. But you see… I’ve gotten ahead of myself a bit.

__________________________________________________________

Monday morning I woke up with a start.
It was late! I hurriedly got ready for the day, scarfed down some DIVINE
Apple Cake, and rushed to borrow my friend’s home phone (haven’t
I mentioned that they’re seriously stuck in a hollow? No high speed
internet, no cell service, NOTHING! haha).

I knew who I needed to call… They’d been closed all weekend and
nearly all of the dead ends I’d phoned before had recommended I call
them… Needless to say, I was excited when they answered the phone
on the first ring.

My hopes were dashed though “We don’t work on old Bugs any more”.

Blast!

They gave me a name and number though… For THE guy they recommended
“If any one can fix it, he can… Heck, he can listen to your motor and tell you
exactly what’s wrong with it”.

Suddenly, I felt better

After a quick conversation, and one more desperate attempt to fix the car
myself, I set out… Clattering, banging, popping, and smelling like poor Bugsie
was about to catch on fire… Insane!

We made it though… And as I pulled into the shop “Grandpa” looked at me
like I was CRAZY. “This thing’s about to blow!”

After I told him what had happened, his concerns for my sanity were confirmed
“You SANK your Bug??” he asked. “Yup” I replied… “Oh”.

After that, he was stuck with this look on his face for much of the day:

Oh, did I mention that my new hero was wearing a “This is What the World’s
Greatest Grandpa Looks Like” sweatshirt? He was workin’ it too! haha.

It took us several hours, tinkering about, before he finally decided to take
a lunch break, and I walked over to a local brewery (great beer and food!)
I was STOKED to discover that they had WiFi also, as it’d been 5 days since
my last “proper” internet connection and I was downright jonesin’!

In fact, that’s where I finally posted Day One of this adventure… I was a little
behind, lol.. Hadn’t expected to be THAT out of touch!

As time passed, I caught up on my hundreds of emails, 200+ Facebook
notifications, and a few checkups with my team leaders (it still amazes
me how much they can get done even when I’m literally “off the grid”).

Then my battery died.
SO, I made my way back over to the shop.. Just in time to hear my baby
start… Stutter, cough, then run better then she had in days!

Things still weren’t right of course, so after a few more hours of tinkering,
we started tearing parts off his little roadster project “sacrificed” in the name
of Bugsie’s needs.

“Sacrificial Lamb”

“Tools For Transplants”

“Trained Hands”

Speaking of hands; one of the very first thing “Grampa” taught me that day
was all about gout, and how it’d been rotting away his finger… DISGUSTING!!!

But let me jump ahead a bit… Because after we transplanted a carburetor
(apparently, even though I’d spent the day before, rebuilding mine, there was
still something wrong in it), the distributor, the spark plugs, and more…

Tested the compression, torqued the heads, changed the oil, reset the timing,
and God knows what else, we finally set to fire her up again… Only to realize
that her fuel tank was DEAD dry!

So, after draining a bit of fuel from one of his SWEET sand rails:

She RAN!!!!!
And boy did she ever… After over 200 miles of the most painful driving I’ve
ever experienced in a car… Sputtering, complaining, backfiring, and overall;
HATING me… She was like an all new creature!!

Ahhhh it was love

Oh, and Gramps was nice to me on the cost too… Even though he had to
put off all his other projects for the day, and focused solely on my little girl…
Tore all sorts of parts off HIS car, and more… What a tremendous blessing!!
(I love my Bug, I love my life!).

God is good.

And so, as the sun was setting, I set out.
The plan for the evening? Head North… And boy did I ever!

On the drive up, I passed the light house Ethan and I slept “in” on our ride down
from Alaska, and many other landmarks that I’d have loved to have spent some
time around… But now, I was THREE days behind and I had to make serious time
to even get close to Seattle before Thanksgiving.

Of course, that didn’t stop me from taking a half hour at the Golden Gate Bridge.
I think it paid off, don’t you??

Landmark…

Landscape…

You simply MUST see this larger… I’m certain you’ll agree:
Click Here!!

From there, I’d planned to find a place to sleep, somewhere North of Marin
County… But I just kept going… And going… And going. about 4 hours later,
I finally made camp the FIRST TIME… But my, this story is getting long, you’ll
have to wait ’till the next episode before I tell you of deer, cops, more deer,
more cops, MORE cops… Oh, and more…

SUCH an eventful day is to come…

P.S. Tell me, which was your favorite photo in this set?
The ones from Day Six are going to absolutely blow your hair back!!